Thursday, August 2, 2012

Last Thursday was poker night, and I was super excited to go because I've ha to miss it for the past 4 or 5 months for various reasons. I was also excited because I wanted to try out a new recipe from my book, Baking with the Cake Boss by Buddy Valastro.

The book is fairly new to me and I decided to try a recipe I didn't think was simple, but that I thought was familiar enough that I would be able to execute it without screwing up too bad.So I chose his Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (page 45). Valastro has set up his book almost as an apprenticeship through print; he gives information on setting up a kitchen, the right type of tools and how to make sure everything you are going to use is in the proper condition to make sure whatever you bake turns out delicious.

Cookies are the starting point for his book and so I decided I would start with cookies. I mean, I've done a bit of baking and even worked in a pretty good bakery, but I don't have my own show, so who am I to argue with him?

Simply put, Valastro's Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are chocolate chip cookies with cocoa added to the batter to make the cookie chocolate as well. While this sounds a bit tame for a book coming from a successful chef with his own TV show, they were amazing! I made them a little smaller than he recommended in his book (I made about 32 while said to make 24), but I figured it would be better to have a bunch of smaller cookies for the guys at the poker table. I showed up and the container was snatched up as soon as they knew what was inside and proceded to pass it around the table for the rest of the night.

The night turned out to be a success for me as I walked away with an extra $30 in my pocket and a few cookies left in my container. Now I have a few weeks to think about what I should make next time. Maybe some cupcakes??